Her
by Sympathiepunkt
Summary: Her. The one he swore he would never, ever lose. The one he promised himself he would always protect. Her. Mawile. [PSMD; Ampharos/Mawile]


Her.

The one he swore he would never, ever lose.

The one he promised himself he would always protect.

Her. Mawile.

She had stood by his side when he built the Expedition Society and when he had made a name for himself.

Ampharos of the Expedition Society, they had started to call him, almost taking the smaller Pokémon constantly at his side for granted. She went where he went, she offered advice and solutions, not only to him, but to everybody who needed it. She was his right hand, walked with him through thick and thin, would stand in for him and stand up for him.

But he never, ever, took her for granted.

He had already known her for a while when he found her unemployed and bored, hanging around Treasure Town with no particular purpose. He had proposed to her that she could help him accomplish his dream: a real team. A team that was more like a family than anything else.

She refused. Told him she did not care for Teams, because, look at where her supposed Team had left her.

She refused. Then, on the rainy afternoon, just two days later, she accepted.

He did not take her company for granted, if only because he had finally found someone that understood him, that could relate to his goals and his dreams. The long rides on the Travel Liner seemed comparatively short with her by his side, because she listened and talked to him, about the Mysteries of the world, about myths and legends and tales of old, and her eyes would shine with such intensity every time she spoke about the ancient times, that he constantly lost himself in them. Yes, he enjoyed her company.

She would cuddle up to him on the Mist Continent, when the night was dark and cold, and the puffs of air in front of their mouths lost themselves in the white of the snow around them. She was shivering while she was asleep, and he had held her as close as possible while he kept watching the world through tired eyes. The glimmers of their campfire extinguished a little more each second, but having her by his side filled him with an incredible warmth he could not explain, even if he tried.

He had taken her left hand on the cliff near Lively Town and just held on as they watched the sun rise from behind the waves. She had turned to him and smiled. "You did it," she had whispered, her voice almost drowned out by the waves crashing against the shore.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he had answered. She had laughed, swayed on her heels a little. And he, he realized that she had the most wonderful laugh in the world before noticing that his heart was beating like crazy.

He squeezed her hand once more. They had made it.

She had taken his right hand as he told her how the child left, the one that fell off the mountain range, the one that would never be able to explore again, the one that still wanted to try to work despite his shattered bones, but he had sent him off, told him to "go home", told him that he was not allowed here, just like any other child.

She hadn't said anything then, but she did not have to.

She stood beside him as the first report of a Pokémon turned to stone came flying through the door, and when he answered to the Federation about the first response the Expedition Society had taken.

"It was necessary to go investigate," she had proclaimed when they had cornered him with their questions, "if only to stop rumors from spreading." She hadn't taken his hand this time, all hell would have broken loose if she did because of what the rulebook said about professionalism and superiors and their subordinates, and about how a leader should never, ever, have romantic relations of any kind with their second in command. Ha! Tell that to the Guildmaster.

At least, they had let them go relatively unscathed, thanks to her.

She had picked him up after his excursion to Serene Village and walked him back home. She would update him on the situation in Lively Town and he would update her on the happenings in Serene Village. "Junior Members, huh?" She had huffed, but had smiled, even when he let the kids join as fully-fledged members, when he told them what life was like at the Expedition Society. She had shrugged. "You never give up hope, do you?"

He would never tell her just how much he worried about her. Everyone regarded her as strong, capable. He did too, but he always feared some thing or another would happen, because he was aware of the dangers of being an explorer, and then, if something happened, no, when something happened, he would lose her, forever, eternally. He could not bear that thought, yet it was on his mind, always.

He had taken her with him on the climb up Fire Island Volcano, but even then, she had jumped in front of him to protect him from the fire; a completely irrational decision, he thinks, but somehow, he was glad she did it, if only for his sake.

He promised to pay her back.

And he did not want to seem patronizing, so he let her lead a group up Showdown Mountain, and then, he let her go to the Prehistoric Ruins.

There. Over There.

It was so far away that he couldn't do anything, and Arceus knew he wanted to, he wanted to save them, he wanted to save her, his soul for hers, that kind of deal; but his inability to hold onto her cost him, yes, it cost him greatly.

They had ripped her away from him, and they had cast her away, and she was thrown into a place he could not go and return from. And neither could she.

His mind went blank as the communication was interrupted, and the ringing in his ears drowned out everything else, and he stumbled backwards, and he saw them stare at him. He saw Swirlix breaking down, he saw Jirachi clasping his hands over his mouth, and he dropped the Expedition Gadget to the floor, and the moment the metal hit the pavement, he started to realize what had happened.

They were gone. They could not return from this place.

And her. Her. The one. Mawile.

She was gone.

His mind went into auto pilot as he blurted out that they had to check on Archen and the kids on Showdown Mountain, trying his best to speak clearly through the numbing chaos in his mind, through the lump in his throat, and he stormed out, out, where the skies were Dark, and the residents were screaming, and the God of Destruction spoke.

Ampharos swore to kill him with his bare hands if he ever saw Yveltal. He would kill him and everyone else that took it all away.

He offered the Shopkeepers asylum. Then, he grabbed Jirachi. They hurried to Revelation Mountain.

Espurr was the name of the kid they picked up. She was hidden behind the bushes. The bushes lining the patch of grass. The patch of grass the statues of his other friends were standing on.

Those who did this...

He would find them. And then he would kill them.

"Do you really want to do that," Espurr said as she walked in. He stood in the middle of the Archeological Records Room, and, realizing he does not even know why he did, he turned to face the child.

"Do what?" He asked, even though he knew.

"You don't want to kill them. You're better than that."

He swallowed. Then, he turned around again.

Espurr examined the room, went up to the desk, picked up the picture frame. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the photograph.

Her.

"You both look happy on this. You also acted more happy when you were in Serene Village, right?" She walked over to him, still holding on to the frame, "You should start being yourself again. Only then..."

He huffed, turned around, left Espurr alone.

He did not want to kill them, he knew.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to cry when he heard that the kids had returned. He was happy. Happy again. Not picture frame happy, but happy nonetheless. Because he was glad, and also, now he knew.

He knew everyone could come back, if he just tried hard enough.

"You never give up hope, do you?"

And they had gone after the kids, down into the Prehistoric Ruins, and then, he saw them all.

And then he saw her.

Gone.

Tears welled up in his eyes, but he squeezed them shut, hurrying onward before either Jirachi or Celebi could see, hurried past the statues.

They probably did see, regardless. Damn those gods.

And then, he met them. The ones that did it all.

He hated them more than he could ever describe.

Everything happened fast, too fast to register anything, but that was how they had planned it all along. He felt the ground vanish from beneath his feet, and before he knew it, he felt soft grass in place of nothingness.

The kids were overjoyed, and he plastered on his fake smile for them.

For them. The ones that defeated evil.

He couldn't do anything to help them.

So he stayed behind with Espurr, looked up at the sky, clasping his damaged left arm and ignoring the blood pouring from his pounding head.

He looked up as it all turned back to normal.

He wanted to cry.

It was over.

Espurr cried for him. He was glad that she did.

Dedenne called, and slowly, the ringing in his ears subsided, leaving him with an unfamiliar numbness.

They went home, back to where Swirlix was waiting for them, crying over an empty food crate but otherwise unharmed.

Archen rejoined them first, with Krookodile and three legendary beasts in toll. They came along so they could express their gratitude, he said. The crook mumbled something before hurrying off to someplace unknown.

"We fought our way to a successful escape, us three, and that 'close comrade' of yours." Entei had told him privately. "I owed you her safety, at least, for everything you have done."

He didn't know what to answer. "Thank you, Entei, he managed. "But I don't think she needs anyone to protect her, honestly."

"We all do," Entei growled. "Even the strongest Warrior needs someone to lean on. Think about that, Ampharos of the Expedition Society." With that, he stepped away, vanishing in a blaze of fire.

His words remained on Ampharos' mind as he sat on the steps leading to the entrance. The others were gathered around him as well. Espurr and the other kids were chatting with Archen, trying to keep their tired eyes open. Swirlix was blabbering by his side, talking about how scary ans unyielding the Voidlands were, and Jirachi desperately tried to convince Celebi to stay just a little bit longer. Maybe he would ask him about their 'friendship' later.

We all need someone to lean on. Maybe this was true for mythical creatures as well.

It was late. The first hour of the first peaceful day had already rung, and he wondered when they would return.

He heard voices in the distance, and then he saw their silhouettes. They were supporting each other; Bunnelby was limping, Buizel had his arm in a makeshift cast. Dedenne seemed greatly unharmed, safe for a few scratches, but she was swaying from side to side in fatigue.

And her. Mawile. Her shoulder was bandaged, her eyes had deep shadows beneath them, but she seemed fine. Fine. Well. Alive.

He stood up, felt like falling over as the numbness subsided and made way to everything, to happiness, sadness, relief, anger, hatred, euphoria, fear, ...

Bunnelby waved as they approached. "Hey everyone!" He yelled, and Dedenne joined in: "We're home!" They laughed.

Mawile smiled, laughed along.

He exhaled, and he does not know how, but the world around him is fading away, away to irrelevance.

Silence.

Nothing.

He recomposes himself, jogs up to all of them, greets them. As he should. He, the Leader.

He wants to cry.

His limbs are tired and everything hurts. His eyelids are heavy. His mind is in chaos.

Somehow, even still.

But.

He never gives up hope,

does he?


End file.
